Every so often I have one of those moments. Like when you looks up in the winter sky and see a huge halo around the full moon, or find yourself standing in the middle of a herd of Welsh mountain ponies at the edge of the Irish Sea, or find yourself dwarfed by six great “cartoons” from the life of Jesus drawn and painted by the master Rembrandt. You have your own, but they are the moments that make me feel really small but in a good way, or remind me that there is a reality more “real” than what you ordinarily experience, or simply leave me in a state of pure delight. Wonder!
I like the definition of wonder that reads: “a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration.” We sing about the wonder of the Cross, “When I survey the wondrous Cross…” But at Christmas I am challenged to think again about wonder. The stories of Jesus’ birth are so familiar. They are comforting. We even describe them as special or precious, but is it just a kind of sentimental attachment? When something becomes so familiar to us do we lose the ability to truly wonder at it (see “feeling of surprise” in the above definition)?
When Jesus says to the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2 that they have “abandoned the love they had at first” is it possible that a loss of wonder is part of Jesus’ challenge? I don’t know for sure, but I think it is worth considering the possibility. Part of worship, I believe, is wonder. Looking afresh and with unashamed amazement at God Himself and His glorious acts. I wish I could prescribe a simple three step process to recover wonder. I can’t, though there are some strategies that we can employ, starting simply with lingering when we have one of “those” moments. What I can do is encourage you to find those things that help you to enter into that wonder which is so characteristic of children. Put down all the “serious” things, all the bustling about, for a pause to listen to Handel’s Messiah, or read an excellent and joyful book, or play with a child. The Holy Spirit does wonderful things – things that are full of wonder – surprising and admirable.
For Christmas this year, one of the best gifts you can ask for (and work toward) is that the Holy Spirit with restore a sense of wonder to you, specifically related to the entrance of the Son of God into our experience one night hundreds of years ago – a night that literally changed everything.
Pursue Christ – He is enough,
Pastor Jeff